Israeli Tennis Team Fined for Refusing to Play on Yom Kippur

The Israel Davis Cup team will be fined 10,000 euros for refusing to compete on Yom Kippur and asking to postpone the game by one day.

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Elad Benari, 12/08/13 04:44

Tennis

Flash 90

The Israel Davis Cup team will be fined 10,000 euros for refusing to compete on Yom Kippur, it was reported Sunday.

The game against the Belgian team which was scheduled for Yom Kippur is one in a play-off series. Immediately after it became known that the game had been scheduled for Yom Kippur, the team's management informed the World Tennis Association that the Israeli team will not be able to compete that day and requested an alternative date.

The Association accepted the request and postponed the match by one day, but nonetheless ordered the Israeli team to pay the Belgian team 10,000 euros as compensation for deferring the game.

The chair of the Israel Tennis Federation, Asi Tuchmayer, wrote in a letter quoted by Yediot Aharonot on Sunday that "for a long time the Belgian tennis union refused to recognize our basic need to avoid playing on Yom Kippur. Only after the intervention of the World Tennis Association was it decided not to play that day.”

Referring to the fine imposed on the Israeli team, Tuchmayer added, “The high penalty deals a devastating blow to our budget and professional program. As an institution representing the State of Israel and its values, ​​we are proud to stand against all those who refuse to recognize the importance of the tradition of the Jewish people."